by W. Winters
I feel Ella notice it. Her wet clothes shift against the seat. But she doesn’t ask the question. On some level, she already knows where we’re going.
The exit that leads to the motel looms out of the night, and I give all my attention to driving carefully. To steering us off the highway and going the speed limit and not fucking up another thing tonight.
We’re here. The mom-and-pop motel is a strip of rooms on a quiet road off the highway. It was closer than my house, closer than hers. And we’ll have privacy.
Lights burn on the outside of each door, keeping the night at bay. I think it’s meant to be welcoming, but right now it’s more than welcoming. It looks like safety. There’s no one outside the rooms.
I park, and leave her where she is.
“Stay while I get a room,” I order and she nods. For a moment, a tic in my jaw spasms until she answers, “Yes.”
Once I have the key, I open my trunk to take out a spare bag that stays there. Most of it is useless, but there’s a dry undershirt and pair of boxers that will do. Grabbing them, I go around to her door. Wordlessly, I open it and offer her my hand.
Ella hesitates.
Then she puts her hand in mine.
That hesitation does something to me. I know she’s delicate. But I also know had I been stricter, this shit wouldn’t have happened. She wouldn’t be questioning a damn thing between us.
I hustle us to the door, take the key out, and let us in.
The room seems too small to contain me in this moment, but there’s more than myself to focus on. “Get out of those wet clothes.”
Ella stands by the door, still and silent, and I unbuckle my belt. As I pull it apart, ready to slide it through the belt loops, I see she hasn’t moved an inch.
“Little bird.”
Her eyes snap to mine.
“Get out of those clothes.”
I don’t know if it’s because she’s responding to me or because it’s cold that Ella’s fingers go to work on the buttons of her coat. She strips it off and tosses it across the table, then goes for the hem of her dress. Anger surges through me again. She could have died, and then I would have been there with her broken body and my broken soul. She could have died and left me to live through the aftermath.
Ella has her dress over her head, her bare breasts perky, her nipples pebbled. She’s not entirely steady. Probably still drunk, and how the hell did I let that happen? I told her there would be punishment for drinking. She knew that going in. And she did it on purpose.
Which could mean—
I don’t know what anything means anymore.
The rest of her clothes come off, and Ella stands naked by the door of my room. I stalk across the too-small space and grab a clean towel out of the bathroom, then return to her. “Dry yourself off.”
She follows orders with a sullen set to her chin. Ella’s got a lot of nerve to be pissed at me in this moment. Like it’s my fault that she threw herself into a pool on a cold night. Like it’s my fault she threw herself at her ex-boyfriend.
Ella hands me the towel with that same tension in her chin.
Handing out the spare shirt and boxers, I tell her, “Put these on.”
When she’s pulling the clothes on, I sling her coat over the radiator.
I turn back to find her looking at me, her eyes huge and questioning and pissed. “What am I here for, Z?”
“You know why we’re here.”
“Why don’t you just drop me off at home and leave me?”
“Leave you?” The incredulity is palpable.
“You don’t want me. I know you don’t.”
With a deep, steadying breath, I dare her to call me a liar. “I want you more than I want anything, Eleanor.”
My words bring her lips to part and a shuddering breath leaves her. I close the space between us, splaying my hand against her back. “The fact that you question that at all tells me I failed you. But my little bird, you are here because it’s time for a punishment that I don’t want anyone to see. I intend to fuck you into the early morning, and it’s only for us. Everyone else needs to get the fuck out of what we are until you know damn well that you’re mine.”
Her breathing picks up, her chest rising and falling chaotically and her beautiful gaze caught in mine. My heart beats wildly, knowing that look and that need. Knowing this is exactly where we’re supposed to be.
“Z,” she whispers.
“You need someone to fuck the wild out of you,” I growl, and it’s wrong. I know it the second I say it. Ella’s eyes fly open, her lips part, and the shock on her face tells me I’ve screwed this up. I’ve stumbled over a hidden pain I didn’t know existed.
As she pushes me away, my phone goes off.
I ignore it. “You okay?” I question her as she crosses her arms and moves toward the bathroom, everything changed. Something’s wrong.
She nods, but doesn’t speak it.
“Ella,” I start and my phone goes off again. Again I ignore it.
“Ella, look at me,” I command her and she does as she’s told, her wide eyes staring back at me. “Are you all right?” I question, already knowing she’s not.
My phone rings in my pocket and I reach for it without thinking. “What?” I snap into the phone.
“We have a problem,” Damon says. “There are photos of you and Ella at the party and—”
“I need tonight, Damon,” I cut him off.
I turn my body away from her, as if that will give me any privacy. As if it will stop her from hearing this conversation. “We need a moment. We can talk—”
“Photos of you two. At the party. They’re on social media. There’s a story already posted. Several outlets are picking it up. She’s not nobody, Zander. What happened? You need to tell me what happened so I can figure it out.” Damon’s worry amplifies a different concern, one I wish had waited.
Wood knocks against wood, and I whirl around to find the space by the door empty, the door banging against the frame.
Fuck! I run out of the room, dropping my phone and race to the end of the hall. I could have gone left or right, I chose left and I chose wrong. With no one there I race to the other side and find that empty too.
“Ella!” I cry out, desperate for her to come back. Fuck. Fuck. “Ella!”
Ella
“I’m going to fuck the wild out of you, El.” James’s whispered words echo in my mind. Tears stream down my face and I can’t stop them. Huddled into a ball in the corner of some utility closet, I don’t really know, it’s so dark, I’m rocking back and forth. All I can do is cry, grieving for a man who loved me truly and deeply.
My hands tremble, my body’s shaking. With my hair stuck to the side of my face, I let the cold seep in. Needing to feel anything at all. I’ve gone numb. Numb all over.
I feel it happening again, this darkness that takes over as I gasp in air and wish it would all stop. I’m slipping backward faster than I ever could have imagined.
In the distance I hear Zander calling my name. Once, twice, then it fades. At least it gave me a moment to breathe.
I don’t want to be this way.
It was a moment. Only a moment.
There’s only one truth that I know as I sit here in the cold dark. I’m not okay.
You don’t want to miss this epic rollercoaster of an ending, pre-order the conclusion of the Love the Way You series, Love Me today!
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is a United States-based suicide prevention network of over 160 crisis centers that provides 24/7 service via a toll-free hotline at the number 1-800-273-8255. It is available to anyone in suicidal crisis or emotional distress.
Also by W Winters
Read Willow’s sexiest and most talked about romances in the Merciless World
This Love Hurts Trilogy
This Love Hurts
But I Need You
And I Love You the Most
An epic tale of both betrayal and all-consuming love...
> Marcus, the villain.
Cody Walsh, the FBI agent who knows too much.
And Delilah, the lawyer caught in between.
A Kiss to Tell (a standalone novel)
They lived on the same street and went to the same school, although he was a year ahead. Even so close, he was untouchable.
Sebastian was bad news and Chloe was the sad girl who didn’t belong.
Then one night changed everything.
Possessive (a standalone novel)
It was never love with Daniel Cross and she never thought it would be. It was only lust from a distance. Unrequited love maybe.
He’s a man Addison could never have, for so many reasons.
Merciless Saga
Merciless
Heartless
Breathless
Endless
Ruthless, crime family leader Carter Cross should’ve known Aria would ruin him the moment he saw her. Given to Carter to start a war; he was too eager to accept. But what he didn’t know was what Aria would do to him. He didn’t know that she would change everything.
All He’ll Ever Be (Merciless Series Collection of all 4 novels)
Irresistible Attraction Trilogy
A Single Glance
A Single Kiss
A Single Touch
Bethany is looking for answers and to find them she needs one of the brothers of an infamous crime family, Jase Cross.
Even a sizzling love affair won’t stop her from getting what she needs.
But Bethany soon comes to realise Jase will be her downfall, and she’s determined to be his just the same.
Irresistible Attraction (A Single Glance Trilogy Collection)
Hard to Love Series
Hard to Love
Desperate to Touch
Tempted to Kiss
Easy to Fall
Eight years ago she ran from him.
Laura should have known he'd come for her. Men like Seth King always get what they want.
Laura knows what Seth wants from her, and she knows it comes with a steep price.
However it’s a risk both of them will take.
Not My Heart to Break (Hard to Love Series Collection)
Tease Me Once (September 2021)
Tease me once... I'll kiss you twice.
Declan Cross' story from the Merciless World.
Spin off of the Merciless World
Love the Way Series
Kiss Me
Hold Me
Love Me
With everything I've been through, and the unfortunate way we met, the last thing I thought I'd be focused on is the fact that I love the way you kiss me.
Extended epilogues to the Merciless World Novels
A Kiss To Keep (more of Sebastian and Chloe)
Seductive (more of Daniel and Addison)
Effortless (more of Carter and Aria)
Never to End (more of Seth and Laura)
Sexy, thrilling with a touch of dark Standalone Novels
Broken (Standalone)
Kade is ruthless and cold hearted in the criminal world.
They gave Olivia to him. To break. To do as he’d like.
All because she was in the wrong place at the wrong time. But there are secrets that change everything. And once he has her, he’s never letting her go.
Forget Me Not (Standalone novel)
She loved a boy a long time ago. He helped her escape and she left him behind. Regret followed her every day after.
Jay, the boy she used to know, came back, a man. With a grip strong enough to keep her close and a look in his eyes that warned her to never dare leave him again.
It’s dark and twisted.
But that doesn’t make it any less of what it is.
A love story. Our love story.
It’s Our Secret (Standalone novel)
It was only a little lie. That’s how stories like these get started.
But with every lie Allison tells, Dean sees through it.
She didn't know what would happen. But with all the secrets and lies, she never thought she’d fall for him.
Small Town Romance
Tequila Rose Book 1
Autumn Night Whiskey Book 2 (April 2021)
He tasted like tequila and the fake name I gave him was Rose.
Four years ago, I decided to get over one man, by getting under another. A single night and nothing more.
Now, with a three-year-old in tow, the man I still dream about is staring at me from across the street in the town I grew up in. I don’t miss the flash of recognition, or the heat in his gaze.
The chemistry is still there, even after all these years.
I just hope the secrets and regrets don’t destroy our second chance before it’s even begun.
You Are Mine Series of Duets
You Are My Reason (You Are Mine Duet book 1)
You Are My Hope (You Are Mine Duet book 2)
Mason and Jules emotionally gripping romantic suspense duet.
One look and Jules was tempted; one taste, addicted.
No one is perfect, but that’s how it felt to be in Mason’s arms.
But will the sins of his past tear them apart?
You Know I Love You
You Know I Need You
Kat says goodbye to the one man she ever loved even though Evan begs her to trust him.
With secrets she couldn’t have possibly imagined, Kat is torn between what’s right and what was right for them.
Tell Me You Want Me
Sue’s story is coming 2021.
Contemporary Romance Standalones
Knocking Boots (A Novel)
They were never meant to be together.
Charlie is a bartender with noncommittal tendencies.
Grace is looking for the opposite. Commitment. Marriage. A baby.
Promise Me (A Novel)
She gave him her heart. Back when she thought they’d always be together.
Now Hunter is home and he wants Violet back.
Tell Me To Stay (A Novella)
He devoured her, and she did the same to him.
Until it all fell apart and Sophie ran as far away from Madox as she could.
After all, the two of them were never meant to be together?
Second Chance (A Novella)
No one knows what happened the night that forced them apart. No one can ever know.
But the moment Nathan locks his light blue eyes on Harlow again, she is ruined.
She never stood a chance.
Burned Promises (A Novella)
Derek made her a promise. And then he broke it. That’s what happens with your first love.
But Emma didn’t expect for Derek to fall back into her life and for her to fall back into his bed.
Valetti Crime Family Series:
A HOT mafia series to sink your teeth into.
Dirty Dom
Becca came to pay off a debt, but Dominic Valetti wanted more.
So he did what he’s always done, and took what he wanted.
His Hostage
Elle finds herself in the wrong place at the wrong time. The mafia doesn’t let witnesses simply walk away.
Regret has a name, and it’s Vincent Valetti.
Rough Touch
Ava is looking for revenge at any cost so long as she can remember the girl she used to be.
But she doesn’t expect Kane to show up and show her kindness that will break her.
Cuffed Kiss
Tommy Valetti is a thug, a mistake, and everything Tonya needs; the answers to numb the pain of her past.
Bad Boy
Anthony is the hitman for the Valetti familia, and damn good at what he does. They want men to talk, he makes them talk. They want men gone, bang - it’s done. It’s as simple as that.
Until Catherine.
Those Boys Are Trouble (Valetti Crime Family Collection)
Collections of shorts and novellas
Don’t Let Go
A collection o
f stories including:
Infatuation
Desires in the Night and Keeping Secrets
Bad Boy Next Door
Kisses and Wishes
A collection of holiday stories including:
One Holiday Wish
Collared for Christmas
Stolen Mistletoe Kisses
All I Want is a Kiss (A Holiday short)
Olivia thought fleeting weekends would be enough and it always was, until the distance threatened to tear her and Nicholas apart for good.
Highest Bidder Series:
Bought
Sold
Owned
Given
From USA Today best selling authors, Willow Winters and Lauren Landish, comes a sexy and forbidden series of standalone romances.
Bad Boy Standalones, cowritten with Lauren Landish:
Inked
Tempted
Mr. CEO
Three novels featuring sexy powerful heroes.
